More MA ideas

Having invesitagated current BELF practitioners and theorists, I moved onto looking at communication and intercultural type MAs, then drifted ino a slightly looser search which returned some previously encountered MA ideas and locations. Here’s what I found, and a few comments to help point up underlying prejudices.

Interest

The attraction lies in the discourse and language theory and analysis, as well as the gathering of data.
Both these fields would tie into BELF issues. Other modules also hold interest, and some very little from the title, e.g. cultural policy.

MRes Linguistics – UvA

The University of Amsterdam houses specialists in all important subareas of linguistics. The research programme of the Amsterdam Center for Language and Communication (ACLC) and the Institute for Language, Logic, and Computation (ILLC) includes research in Creole Studies, Discourse Analysis, Functional Grammar, Generative Grammar, Language and Speech Development and Pathology, Language Typology, Language Variation and Change, Phonetics, Second Language Acquisition, Semantics, and Sign Linguistics. The university is equally rich in terms of the languages and language families covered in linguistic research and teaching. Linguistics seminars are taught on Arabic, Dutch (including Dutch as a Second Language), English, French, German, Greek (classical and modern), Italian, Latin, Rumanian, Scandinavian, Slavic, and Spanish. A general characteristic of linguistic research at the University of Amsterdam is that research projects aim at theory formation through the analysis of large data sets.

Rhetoric, Argumentation and Philosophy – UvA

The Research Master’s programme in Rhetoric, Argumentation Theory and Philosophy (RAP) is ideal for students who wish to acquire a sound intellectual basis for conducting research in the interrelated fields of rhetoric, argumentation and philosophy. The programme provides students with insight not only into the normative and descriptive study of communication and argumentation, but also into the philosophical conceptions of rationality and reasonableness in which they are grounded.

This may be more or less suitable for me to follow along. The philsophy of language is analytical and the course really does revolve around argumentation, persuasion. Whilst there seem to be tools being provided for research, this tight focus might be a bit too limiting for me. Then again, it might be okay. Not completely clear as to whether the course is delivered in English or Dutch.

Discourse and Argumentation Studies – UvA

The programme presents an overview of recent descriptive and normative research in language use covering a broad range of topics, including conversational analysis, style, classical and modern rhetoric, informal logic, fallacies and juridical and conversational argument.

So, useful research and analysis skills are covered.

It’s at this point of looking, again, into MAs that I start to wonder at the whole idea. Especially when considering MAs in the Netherlands.

MRes Language and Communication – Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen

Have to say, the website gives the most detail of the modules on offer, albeit in previous year. Still, they give a good flavour of what can be expected to be on offer. The structure comes across as very practical, 4 general modules from which you select a main and a secondary to pursue throughout the rest of the MRes, followed by 4 core modules to equip you with the necessary skills. I’m sure that most other MAs must follow a similar pattern, it’s just that here, it’s all been laid out in a very clear manner.

Likes

Here we go! Nijmegen really gets my vote for being well organized. Also, of all the philosophy courses I’ve looked at, this is really the first that offers a pathway that catches Ricouer and Continental Philosophy.

Resource

Picked up a load of pointers to MA courses from Enqa.net, although several of the links were dead and needed a quick search to find the course referred to.

Closing comment

So, today has run the gamut of MAs. I am taken by the idea of studying in the Netherlands even though it’s a completely unreasonable prospect, just how could it ever work? Maybe it’s far enough off in the future for it to somehow become possible. My focus did start off related to getting ActualEnglish related studies under my belt, quipping myself with tools to do the work of research that seems a necessary part of any BRIC undertaking.

Indeed, the thought has crossed my mind more than once today that it might be that the ideas I have are really going to find their place only within a course of MA study. I know I feel very underprepared to undertake them as is. I’m uncertain of how to proceed. I need to get to grips with getting a business plan together, have to keep a hold of the long term view, but at the same time can’t afford to get lost in dreams os study.